Noida: Powercuts add to misery after a tower collapsed in storm

Noida: Noida has been reeling under major power shortage since Monday afternoon, leaving people in a helpless condition in the sweltering heat.

The power supply came to an abrupt standstill after a tower, carrying transmission lines, collapsed in Monday’s storm.

Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) Superintendent Engineer Mukul Singhal said a transmission line tower, carrying lines supplying power from the 220 KV power station in Greater Noida to power station in Noida, collapsed in the storm.

He said the tower was found twisted due to strong air turbulence. Since then, the power supply has been disrupted and the entire NOIDA city has been facing a major power supply shortage.

The official said that it might take yet another day for power supply to normalise.

“The erection (of the tower) would take another day. The assemby of the tower has commenced on the spot. As an adhoc arrangement, we are supplying power to the city on an average 12 to 13 hours a day from other sources,” Singhal said.

“Two other 220 KV power stations in sector-20 and sector-62, from where we have managed to supply power on an adhoc basis in phases, have enabled us to feed the city with 12 to 13 hours supply daily,” Singhal said.

Residents complained of finding it difficult to manage with such a power deficit.

“The absence of electricity also affected the water supply in our society. It was because the water tubewell could not function without electricity,” said K.D. Sharma, a resident of Noida Sector-62.

“We are having a tough time at home as even the inverters are no more in working condition. They could not be recharged after they got exhausted,” said Poonam Singh, a resident of Noida Sector-52.

Issuing a slew of direction as immediate measures to control pollution in Delhi-NCR, the court banned felling of trees, ordered sprinkling of water on roads to control dust. Pixabay

Lucknow, November 9, 2017 : After the deadly smog in Delhi, the hazardous weather conditions have hit the state of Uttar Pradesh with various cities recording dangerously poor air quality, officials said on Thursday.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Noida has been noted as the worst in the state in the past 24-hours.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has issued a health warning for children, senior citizens and people with respiratory issues, asking them to avoid morning walks and stay indoors.

The air quality in the state capital is worst in Lalbagh where the average AQI is 463, which was very close to that in Noida in the last 24-hours, an official told IANS.

Following this, on he lines of Delhi, the district administration in Noida has ordered closure of all schools from nursery to Class 8 till November 10.

Noida, February 11, 2017: There was evident enthusiasm among voters in Noida which went to the polls in the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, but many felt disappointed after finding their names missing from the voters list.

The constituency abutting Delhi recorded voter turnout of 58.18 percent.

Sabhajit Yadav, an auto driver who lives in Sector 8, said he was very disappointed on not finding his name in the voters list.

“My name was missing from the list. An Anganwadi worker came to my house to get the names verified. But when I went to cast my vote, they said my name was not in the Election Commission record,” Yadav told IANS.

“We have been living here for more than 30 years. How is it possible that my name is not there on the list while my daughter’s and my wife’s names are there,” he added.

A polling agent of Samajwadi Party in Sector 11 said there were complaints from a large number of people about their names being missing. An agent of the BJP in the area also seconded him.

Richa Bala, who came to the polling booth at Ghijor village, said that she had voted in the 2014 Lok Sabha election but was unable do so in this election.

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Bala’s friend, who was accompanying her, said she had called the prescribed toll number to lodge a complaint and got to know that 2,000 such complaints had already been made.

Lalita, who runs a shop at Ghijor village, also rued that she could not vote.

“I have been casting my vote here for the past 25 years. This time my name is missing from the list. My husband’s name is there, but not mine,” she said.

A booth level officer at Ghijor said they could not help those whose names were missing.

“If a person’s name is there at multiple places, it gets deleted. People have to take care that they are properly registered at one address only,” he said.

Contacted, Kumar Vineet, Additional District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, said that the list was publicised many times.

He said people whose names are missing might not have checked the list.

“There could be many reasons. They should have verified their names in the voters list before the elections,” Vineet told IANS.

Roads in Noida wore a deserted look on Saturday due to holiday to enable people to vote.

Some voters did not hesitate to express their preferences.

“BJP is in power at the Centre. If they come to power in the state, there will be development here as well. Law and order situation is not good in Uttar Pradesh,” said Rakesh Bhandari, a resident of Sector 11, who works in a telecom office.

“I think there is a contest between the BSP and BJP,” he added.

Another voter, Kailash Mandal, a resident of Sector 17, said: “It is a contest between Samajwadi Party and BJP here in Noida. The BSP is a bit down.”

“There is hope that Sunil Choudhury will win. He is an old candidate from Noida. With BSP contesting this time, BJP will lose votes,” Mandal added. (IANS)

Agra: The 165-km-long Yamuna Expressway, built as a symbol of modern development connecting the Noida industrial hub with Agra — the city of Taj, is now being described as the deadliest road in the country by the families of those who fell victim to speeding on the smooth macadam.

An ambitious project of the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, the eight-lane Expressway was formally opened on August 9, 2012, by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

Since its inauguration, there have been 2,194 accidents recorded on the expressway in around 1,000 days.

In reply to an RTI query, the Yamuna Expressway Authority has revealed that there were 319 deaths till July 15 in road accidents. Two major accidents have been reported later.

“So many families have lost their dear ones, but the Expressway Authority continues to overlook speed limits,” K.C. Jain, president of the Agra Development Foundation (ADF), said.

“The Agra Development Foundation filed a public interest petition in Allahabad High Court which directed ADF to give its suggestions to the high-level state committee on Expressway safety for implementation. But so far no action has been initiated by the government.

“We now have no option but to go back to the high court to seek a clear directive to save lives and property,” Jain added.

Rakesh Garg, ADF joint secretary, said most of the vehicles involved in accidents were found to be running above the permissible limit of 100 kmph, as there is no provision to penalize for over speeding.

The laxity on the part of police is proving too costly, he said.

According to the Yamuna Expressway statistics, there were 275 accidents in 2012, it rose to 896 in 2013. There were 771 accidents in 2014. In 2015, there have been 252 accidents till mid-July with the toll standing at 319.

The Central Road Research Institute had sent its recommendations on March 4 and June 4, this year. But the concessionaire, JP Infratech Ltd., is yet to act on them. Over-speeding and tyre-bursts have been identified as two main reasons for accidents but no steps have been taken so far to address these.

The ADF and other voluntary groups have now threatened to stage protest demonstrations and approach the court if measures were not taken soon to make the Expressway a safe route.